As he always does, he included a portion about those who have been helping him through this. Hayward singled out the Thunder’s Paul George as a fellow player who’s part of his support system. George is able to share advice based on his own experience recovering from the gruesome injury he suffered several years ago.

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He’s (Paul George) obviously got a lot going on with what he’s doing, just in his own season. So for him to still take the time to hit me up and check in on me to see how I’m doing, that’s been really cool.

His message is pretty simple, but it comes from an important place. He tells me to continue to work every day and not get frustrated by setbacks, because there are going to be setbacks.

There are going to be days where you feel really good, and there are going to be days where it is a lot more sore than normal. There are days where you feel like you take two or three steps backward, but he’s told me not to get frustrated by that. In time, I’ll be 100 percent and healthy.

Just continue to work. That’s kind of been the general message.

The proof is in the results, that he has come back and been a star in the league, an All-Star every year since he got injured. He’s been through it and come back stronger, so it gives me a lot of inspiration to see a guy go through something like that and come back so strong.

George has also talked about sharing his rehab wisdom with Hayward. He told reporters last month, per USA TODAY Sports:

“The biggest thing was just letting him know what obstacles he was going to have to face with that injury. I think it helped a bit, just helping him and giving him a heads-up of what to expect. But again, he’s doing a lot better. I think at this point, he don’t need me to give him encouraging words. He knows I’ve got his back.”

Gordon Hayward says the general message from Paul George is “Just continue to work.”

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